Trans Mountain Pipelinehttp://www.desmogblog.com/taxonomy/term/6585/all
enPipeline Industry Promises to Review Disclosure Rules After Kinder Morgan Secrecy Scandalhttp://desmog.ca/2015/03/31/pipeline-industry-promises-review-disclosure-rules-after-kinder-morgan-secrecy-scandal
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/Peace%20River%20Pipeline%20Spill%20JimmyShoots.com_.jpeg?itok=D48SmrkT" width="200" height="113" alt="pipeline spill Jimmy Jeong" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The Canadian Energy Pipeline Association (<span class="caps">CEPA</span>) is working hard to undo damage caused by pipeline company <a href="http://www.desmog.ca/2015/01/19/national-energy-board-rules-kinder-morgan-can-keep-pipeline-emergency-plans-secret-weakens-faith-process">Kinder Morgan’s refusal to release oil spill response plans in British Columbia</a>. The company's lack of disclosure angered the province of B.C., especially when it was revealed that <a href="http://www.desmog.ca/2015/02/12/what-kinder-morgan-keeping-secret-about-its-trans-mountain-spill-response-plans-and-why-it-s-utterly-ridiculous">Kinder Morgan released detailed spill response plans in Washington State</a> for portions of the pipeline that extend across the border.</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The pipeline association <a href="http://www.cepa.com/pipeline-operators-coming-together-to-advance-common-approach-to-public-disclosure-of-emergency-response-plans">recently announced</a> it would form a task force to address the issue, hoping to waylay growing public concerns by developing “guiding principles” for disclosure.</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>A number of our members have faced significant public pressure to disclose all information contained in emergency response plans. The <span class="caps">CEPA</span> task force will work to support that by establishing clear principles and guidelines that seek to find the right balance between the public’s right to know, the privacy of personal information and the security considerations also required for public safety,” Jim Donihee, chief operating officer with <span class="caps">CEPA</span>, <a href="http://www.cepa.com/pipeline-operators-coming-together-to-advance-common-approach-to-public-disclosure-of-emergency-response-plans">said</a>.</span></p>
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<p>In the case of the <a href="http://www.desmog.ca/kinder-morgan-trans-mountain-pipeline">Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline</a>, the company argues it shouldn't disclose spill response plans — even to the province of British Columbia, which has requested the plans during the National Energy Board Review of the <a href="http://www.desmog.ca/kinder-morgan-trans-mountain-pipeline">Trans Mountain pipeline</a> — because of “safety concerns.”</p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">DeSmog Canada first published<a href="http://www.desmog.ca/2015/02/12/what-kinder-morgan-keeping-secret-about-its-trans-mountain-spill-response-plans-and-why-it-s-utterly-ridiculous"> the documents Kinder Morgan publicly released in the <span class="caps">U.S.</span></a>, comparing them to similar documents severely redacted or completely withheld in <span class="caps">B.C.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Since then, the story has been covered in the <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/washington-state-can-view-spill-response-plans-for-pipeline-that-bc-cannot/article23108621/">Globe and Mail</a>, the <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/kinder-morgan-defends-redacted-pipeline-emergency-spill-response-plan-for-b-c-1.2965367"><span class="caps">CBC</span></a> and <a href="http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Kinder+Morgan+president+says+spill+plan+doesnt+need+public/10830333/story.html">the Canadian Press</a>, forcing <a href="http://www.desmog.ca/kinder-morgan-trans-mountain-pipeline">Kinder Morgan and the National Energy Board (<span class="caps">NEB</span>) to defend the company’s actions</a>.</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="caps">NEB</span> spokesman Darin Barter said the board was considering making public pipeline emergency plans mandatory for energy companies.</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>Our chairman is not very happy that there’s a lack of transparency around these emergency response plans,” Barter said. “Canadians deserve to have that information. There’s a public will for that information. Industry needs to find a way to make that information public.”</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">In a recent letter to Enbridge, the <span class="caps">NEB</span> expressed concern over the company’s requirement that municipalities sign non-disclosure agreements before emergency plans are released.</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>I am concerned that Enbridge’s practice of requesting <span class="caps">NDA</span>s is not consistent with the principle of regulatory transparency that guides the board’s regulatory approach,” <span class="caps">NEB</span> chairman Peter Watson said in a letter, available on the <span class="caps">NEB</span> website.</span></p>
<p>Watson said he would like to know how Enbridge would proceed with a municipality unwilling to sign a non-disclosure agreement.</p>
<p>Despite the <span class="caps">NEB</span>’s recent push for increased transparency, the <a href="http://www.desmog.ca/2015/01/19/national-energy-board-rules-kinder-morgan-can-keep-pipeline-emergency-plans-secret-weakens-faith-process">board ruled Kinder Morgan was within its right</a> to deny the province of British Columbia detailed spill response and emergency plans for the Trans Mountain pipeline.</p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">When <span class="caps">B.C.</span> asked the <span class="caps">NEB</span> to compel Kinder Morgan to release the plans, the <a href="http://www.desmog.ca/2015/01/19/national-energy-board-rules-kinder-morgan-can-keep-pipeline-emergency-plans-secret-weakens-faith-process">board refused</a>.</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/kinder%20morgan%20spill%20response%20plans%20redacted.jpg" style="width: 640px; height: 431px;" /></span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">As DeSmog Canada reported, the <a href="http://www.desmog.ca/2015/02/12/what-kinder-morgan-keeping-secret-about-its-trans-mountain-spill-response-plans-and-why-it-s-utterly-ridiculous">plans withheld in <span class="caps">B.C.</span></a> included contact information for first responders and company officials and outlined access to oil booms, pumps, hoses and storage tanks and other supplies needed in the event of an oil spill.</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Canadian Energy Pipeline Association vice-president Pay Smyth said the group is seeking disclosure standards that will satisfy the public demand for disclosure while protecting personal information of company employees and first responders.</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>This is by no means a <span class="caps">PR</span> exercise,” <a href="http://calgaryherald.com/business/energy/pipeline-industry-vows-to-review-emergency-plan-disclosure-rules">Smyth told the Calgary Herald</a>. “We are treading new ground here. Industry recognizes that Canadians have the right and the need to know and we’re going to make sure they have access to information.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><em>Image Credit: Jimmy Jeong, <a href="http://www.jimmyshoots.com/">JimmyShoots.com</a> via <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/a-dire-warning-from-a-broken-pipe/article4262774/?page=all">The Globe and Mail</a></em></span></span></p>
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<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6586">Kinder Morgan</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6585">Trans Mountain Pipeline</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/7519">Canadian Energy Pipeline Association</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/12167">CEPA</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/7466">disclosure</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/19862">spill response plans</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/20173">emergency plans</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6232">Spill</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5006">oil spill</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2632">tar sands</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2738">oilsands</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/4389">Enbridge</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/17381">non-disclosure</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/20174">Jim Donihee</a></div></div></div>Tue, 31 Mar 2015 18:39:22 +0000Carol Linnitt9259 at http://www.desmogblog.comKinder Morgan, NEB Draw Ire for Oil Spill Response Plans Released in Washington State, But Not B.C.http://desmog.ca/2015/02/24/kinder-morgan-draws-ire-releasing-spill-response-plans-washington-state-not-b-c
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/Kinder%20Morgan%20pipeline%20repairs.png?itok=kK9oT9yH" width="200" height="120" alt="kinder morgan pipeline, trans mountain spill response plans" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Since DeSmog Canada broke the story two weeks ago that <a href="http://www.desmog.ca/2015/02/12/what-kinder-morgan-keeping-secret-about-its-trans-mountain-spill-response-plans-and-why-it-s-utterly-ridiculous" style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Kinder Morgan publicly released its emergency oil spill plans for the Trans Mountain pipeline in Washington State</a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"> while withholding or severely redacting the exact same plans in B.C.,</span> there's been a firestorm of activity on the topic.</p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The story has now been covered by the </span><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/washington-state-can-view-spill-response-plans-for-pipeline-that-bc-cannot/article23108621/" style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Globe and Mail</a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">, the </span><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/kinder-morgan-defends-redacted-pipeline-emergency-spill-response-plan-for-b-c-1.2965367" style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="caps">CBC</span></a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"> and the </span><a href="http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Kinder+Morgan+president+says+spill+plan+doesnt+need+public/10830333/story.html" style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Canadian Press</a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">, the issue was raised in the House of Commons this week and the president of <a href="http://www.desmog.ca/kinder-morgan-trans-mountain-pipeline">Kinder Morgan</a> and the chair of the National Energy Board (<span class="caps">NEB</span>) have been forced to respond. </span></p>
<p style="letter-spacing: 0.389999985694885px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Kinder Morgan and the <span class="caps">NEB</span> angered the <span class="caps">B.C.</span> government in January after ruling the company could keep</span><a href="http://www.desmog.ca/2015/01/19/national-energy-board-rules-kinder-morgan-can-keep-pipeline-emergency-plans-secret-weakens-faith-process" style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"> spill response plans</a><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"> for the proposed oilsands pipeline secret due to “security concerns.”</span></p>
<p style="letter-spacing: 0.389999985694885px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">This week <a href="http://www.desmog.ca/kinder-morgan-trans-mountain-pipeline">Kinder Morgan</a> president Ian Anderson defended the company’s actions, saying the <span class="caps">NEB</span> did not demand disclosure of the plans.</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>We in no way want to have this perceived lack of transparency around our emergency response plans as any indication of us wanting to hide anything or keep anything a secret,” Anderson said.</span></p>
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<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>There are very real security concerns that we have with respect to posting our full and complete plans where critical valves and critical access points to the system are delineated.”</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Anderson elaborated that requirements for disclosure are different in Washington State.</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">In January the <span class="caps">NEB</span> ruled Kinder Morgan was not obligated to provide the plans despite multiple requests from the province of B.C., an intervenor in the federal Trans Mountain pipeline review process.</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">In a motion to the federal regulator, the province called Kinder Morgan’s redactions “excessive, unjustified and prohibitive.” <span class="caps">B.C.</span> added the withheld information “thwarts” their review of the pipeline expansion project and “precludes a thorough understanding of Trans Mountain’s [emergency management plan] by the Board and all intervenors.”</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The release of the plans in Washington “renders inexplicable” Kinder Morgan’s insistence the information remain secret north of the border, <span class="caps">B.C.</span> argued. The fact emergency information is available in the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> “calls into serious question the legitimacy of Trans Mountain’s claim that what is presumably almost identical information ought…not to be disclosed,” the province told the <span class="caps">NEB</span>.</span></p>
<p>Victoria <span class="caps">MP</span> Murray Rankin raised the issue in the House of Commons on Feb. 23, saying:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Kinder Morgan is allowed to keep its plans for oil-spill recovery secret from the people of Victoria and from all British Columbians — the very kind of plans that are routinely available across the border, in Washington state. This deplorable secrecy does no favour to the resource industry which depends upon social licence from first nations and from communities small and large trampled by a government that allows our resources to be sold at any price.”</p>
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<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">A spokesperson with the <span class="caps">NEB</span> said the federal regulator is considering making public emergency response plans mandatory for energy companies operating existing pipelines, the Canadian Press reports.</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="dquo">“</span>Our chairman is not very happy that there’s a lack of transparency around these emergency response plans,” Darin Barter said. “Canadians deserve to have that information. There’s a public will for that information. Industry needs to find a way to make that information public.”</span></p>
<p><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Barter added the <span class="caps">NEB</span> is not pushing for a legislative change around emergency plan disclosure requirements, but is seeking greater transparency from companies.*</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">* Correction February 25, 2015: This article has been corrected to show the <span class="caps">NEB</span> is not seeking a change in legislation but rather greater transparency from companies.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><em>Image Credit: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RKwwZos41g">Trans Mountain</a></em></span></span></p>
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<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6586">Kinder Morgan</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6585">Trans Mountain Pipeline</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/19861">emergency management plans</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5755">Secret</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/19862">spill response plans</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/763">washington state</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/18594">Ian Anderson</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/11382">NEB</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6061">national energy board</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/8029">review</a></div></div></div>Wed, 25 Feb 2015 01:29:58 +0000Carol Linnitt9128 at http://www.desmogblog.comDeSmogCAST 9: U.S. Oil Exports Up, Kinder Morgan's Secrets and Teens Sue for the Climatehttp://www.desmogblog.com/2015/01/25/desmogcast-9-u-s-oil-exports-kinder-morgan-s-secrets-and-teens-sue-climate
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/desmogcast%209%20image.jpg?itok=_3U5nueF" width="200" height="134" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div>
In this episode of DeSmogCAST host Farron Cousins joins DeSmog cast Carol Linnitt and Justin Mikulka to discuss how recent changes in the global oil market, combined with a language change regarding crude oil, have led to an increase in <span class="caps">U.S.</span> oil exports.</div>
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We also discuss a new ruling in Canada that allows pipeline company Kinder Morgan to keep its emergency response plans for the Trans Mountain pipeline in British Columbia a secret.</div>
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We end on a positive note, reflecting on the bold actions of two teenagers in Oregon who are taking their elected leaders to court for failing to act meaningfully on climate change.</div>
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<p class="rtecenter"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="309" src="//www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/F6Dx9XXrtHw?rel=0" width="550"></iframe></p>
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See below for articles mentioned in this episode:</div>
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<h3>
<a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/2015/01/20/low-prices-driving-record-u-s-crude-oil-exports">Low Prices Driving Record <span class="caps">U.S.</span> Crude Oil Exports Despite Crude Oil Export Ban</a></h3>
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<a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/2015/01/09/happy-new-year-oil-industry-obama-admin-quietly-allows-light-oil-exports">Obama Admin's Year-End Gift to the Oil Industry Quietly Allows Light Oil Exports</a></h3>
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<a href="http://www.desmog.ca/2015/01/19/national-energy-board-rules-kinder-morgan-can-keep-pipeline-emergency-plans-secret-weakens-faith-process">National Energy Board Rules Kinder Morgan Can Keep Pipeline Emergency Plans Secret, Weakens Faith in Process</a></h3>
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<a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/2015/01/24/american-youth-sue-politicians-force-action-climate-change">American Youth Sue Politicians To Force Action On Climate Change</a></h3>
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<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/18718">DeSmogCAST</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/939">climate change</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/913">global warming</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6586">Kinder Morgan</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6585">Trans Mountain Pipeline</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/11382">NEB</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9364">Oil Exports</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2702">obama</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2844">gas prices</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/12378">oil prices</a></div></div></div>Sun, 25 Jan 2015 21:22:52 +0000Carol Linnitt9022 at http://www.desmogblog.comHow Trans Mountain Pipeline Delivers Max Profits to U.S. Investors By Avoiding Paying Canadian Taxes http://desmog.ca/2014/11/18/how-trans-mountain-pipeline-delivers-max-profits-u-s-investors-avoiding-paying-canadian-taxes
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/15816148911_ef9274fbd9_z.jpg?itok=KzVvMHZ4" width="200" height="133" alt="Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain rally on Burnaby Mountain" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Kinder Morgan, the Texas-based multinational that owns and operates the Trans Mountain Pipeline System, claims Trans Mountain is a significant contributor to federal and provincial income tax revenues. The company is relying on this as proof it deserves public licence to triple its pipeline capacity in Western Canada.</p>
<p>Pouring tax revenues into Canada is not the story Kinder Morgan tells its U.S.-based shareholders. Promoting Trans Mountain south of the border, Kinder Morgan boasts of tax refunds — two in the past five years. From 2009 to 2013, Trans Mountain's combined federal and provincial Canadian corporate tax contribution averaged just $1.5 million per year.</p>
<p>How could this be? The answer lies in complexities of <span class="caps">U.S.</span> corporate tax regulation which I will do my best to explain here.</p>
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<p>First, a bit of history about how Kinder Morgan came into being.</p>
<p>Kinder Morgan began as a publicly traded Enron tax shelter in 1992 called <a href="http://www.jct.gov/s-3-03-vol1.pdf">Enron Liquids Pipeline, <span class="caps">L.P.</span></a> (see page 62). Publicly traded limited partnerships in the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> are called Master Limited Partnerships (<span class="caps">MLP</span>s). Ownership shares are units. <span class="caps">MLP</span>s are treated as a partnership for tax purposes and none of the income is subject to federal income tax. They combine the tax advantages of a partnership with the liquidity benefits of publicly traded stocks.</p>
<p>The Enron <span class="caps">MLP</span> held the energy giant's liquid pipeline assets as well as some gas processing and coal transfer and storage facilities. The general partner, Enron Liquids Pipeline Co., was the operator.</p>
<p>Richard Kinder, Kinder Morgan's current chair and <span class="caps">CEO</span>, was instrumental in setting up the arrangement. When Enron Liquids Pipeline was established, he was a member of the Enron board of directors, its president and chief operating officer (<span class="caps">COO</span>), and became the general partner's first chair. Kinder was the person responsible for setting the company's course years before he left Enron.</p>
<h3>
The Enron-Kinder Morgan History of Tax Avoidance</h3>
<p>Beginning in 1995, Enron began to engage in a series of transactions that, according to the <a href="http://www.jct.gov/s-3-03-vol1.pdf"><span class="caps">U.S.</span> Joint Staff Committee on Taxation</a> (page 109) were designed to “satisfy the literal requirements of the corporate tax laws, yet produce results that were not contemplated by Congress and not warranted from a tax policy perspective. Several of the projects were structured to duplicate and accelerate tax deductions.”</p>
<p>The first of these transactions was called Project Tanya. It was based on duplicating deductions between Enron companies — effectively claiming the same loss twice. Project Tanya resulted in federal tax savings of $66 million. The <span class="caps">U.S.</span> Joint Committee on Taxation <a href="http://www.jct.gov/s-3-03-vol1.pdf">report</a> (page 119) explained that as director, president and <span class="caps">COO</span>, Richard Kinder was instrumental in delivering this strategy for Enron board approval.</p>
<p>On February 14, 1997, Kinder and William Morgan acquired Enron Liquids Pipeline, <span class="caps">L.P.</span> from Enron Corp. by buying the wholly owned general partner, Enron Liquids Pipeline Co. Acquiring the <span class="caps">MLP</span> and the general partner was hardly an arms-length deal — Kinder continued to receive a <a href="http://www.secinfo.com/d274k.86.8.htm#1stPage">paycheque</a> from Enron until the day after he took over the company. Morgan, also a former employee of Enron, had been on the board of the general partner since 1994.</p>
<p>With assets from Enron acquired to establish Kinder Morgan Energy Partners L.P., Kinder and Morgan created their own <a href="http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=119776&amp;p=irol-SEC-Text&amp;TEXT=aHR0cDovL2FwaS50ZW5rd2l6YXJkLmNvbS9maWxpbmcueG1sP2lwYWdlPTQ3Njg3NCZEU0VRPTAmU0VRPTAmU1FERVNDPVNFQ1RJT05fRU5USVJFJnN1YnNpZD01Nw%3d%3d">board of directors</a> and executive team for the general partner. The roster was heavily weighted with Enron insiders. Out of the nine original directors and officers, six were Enron employees and a seventh member of the team, Michael Morgan, was William Morgan's son. The treasurer and secretary of Kinder Morgan's company was an independent tax and accounting consultant underscoring the entity's continued emphasis on tax planning. Enron Liquids Pipeline Co.'s 141 employees came with the deal at their existing salaries.</p>
<p>Within months of acquiring the corporate entities, Kinder Morgan Energy Partners filed a prospectus with the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> Securities and Exchange Commission (<span class="caps">SEC</span>) issuing three million units of the <span class="caps">MLP</span> to the public. Kinder Morgan's 1997 prospectus — similar to its initial public offering in 1992 — promoted the tax-related properties available to maximize unit holder returns over what they would be if the limited partnership were treated as a corporation for tax purposes.</p>
<h3>
<span class="caps">U.S.</span> Offers Special Subsidy for Resource Companies</h3>
<p>The prospectus explained that the <a href="http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/7704"><span class="caps">U.S.</span> tax code</a> requires publicly traded partnerships be taxed as corporations. However, a “Natural Resource Exception” <a href="http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=119776&amp;p=irol-SEC-Text&amp;TEXT=aHR0cDovL2FwaS50ZW5rd2l6YXJkLmNvbS9maWxpbmcueG1sP2lwYWdlPTQ3Njg4NiZEU0VRPTAmU0VRPTAmU1FERVNDPVNFQ1RJT05fRU5USVJFJnN1YnNpZD01Nw%3d%3d">exists</a> (page 9) if the partnership earns 90 per cent or more of its income from the exploration, development, mining or transportation of any mineral or natural resource, including oil.</p>
<p>The natural resource exclusion means that Kinder Morgan Energy Partners does not face corporate tax at the partnership level. This increases cash flow available for distribution to unit holders, including major unit holders like Kinder, and the general partner, wholly owned by Kinder Morgan Inc. (<span class="caps">KMI</span>), again with Kinder a major beneficiary.</p>
<p>Typically, distributable cash flow is paid quarterly and can wind up being treated in the hands of the unit holder as a considerable non-taxable return of capital. Thus Kinder Morgan Energy Partners not only avoids corporate taxes as a “pass through” entity, taxes payable by unit holders are deferred or reduced over what they would be if the unit holder were a shareholder in a publicly traded corporation.</p>
<p>The special tax treatment — the government subsidy — the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> affords energy companies that are structured as <span class="caps">MLP</span>s is what has enabled Kinder Morgan to grow into the third largest energy company in North America.</p>
<h3>
<strong>A Corporate Makeover To Save $20 billion in Taxes</strong></h3>
<p>After 22 years of benefitting from this advantageous tax structure, Kinder Morgan's <span class="caps">MLP</span> has matured. Because of a feature called Incentive Distribution Rights, as <span class="caps">KMP</span> grows the money available to distribute to its unit holders – its cash distributions — grows, but an increasing share flows through to the general partner. Kinder Morgan Inc. owns the general partner, and as a corporation is required to pay corporate tax on that growing income.</p>
<p>Thus, it's sensible to argue that the successful growth of the <span class="caps">MLP</span> means Kinder Morgan should now face an increasing income tax burden. Think of it as reasonable payback to a system that afforded stellar growth because taxes in its formative years were avoided. But instead of treating income taxes as a price for living in a civilized society, Kinder Morgan is relying on its sophisticated corporate structure, a reorganization and accounting savvy to keep its tax payments as low as possible.</p>
<p>Kinder <a href="http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=93621&amp;p=irol-newsArticle&amp;ID=1957206">announced last August</a> that his energy empire would undergo a makeover. The restructuring will see Kinder Morgan Inc. purchase the other three publicly traded entities.</p>
<p>The reorganization, by its leader's own reckoning, reduces Kinder Morgan's taxes payable by more than $20 billion over 14 years.</p>
<p>Kinder explained this to investor analysts in a <a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/unraveling-the-tax-bill-of-the-kinder-morgan-deal-1407970549">conference call</a> shortly after the announced restructuring. He characterized the deal as a “tax shelter” because the purchase price sets a higher value for the assets than keeping them on the books at their historical depreciated cost. He said, “From the purchase price alone, including the step up, we will realize over 20 billion dollars in cash tax savings over the next 14 years.”</p>
<p>Effectively Kinder Morgan Inc. gets to work the intricacies of the accounting system. It will buy assets from its subsidiaries at a premium price and then depreciate these assets as if they were brand new. The deal creates a hefty $1.4 billion in tax savings each year for at least two decades. The market's reaction to the reshuffling of Kinder Morgan's corporate structure is likely why Rich Kinder, Kinder Morgan Inc's largest shareholder, <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-08-11/richard-kinder-shares-gain-1-55-billion-on-consolidation-deal.html">pocketed an extra $800 million the day after the announcement</a>.</p>
<p>None of this is illegal under <span class="caps">U.S.</span> law. However, it's fair to conclude what makes a doubling of the growth rate in Kinder Morgan Inc's dividend to its shareholders possible — it's a paper-based consolidation designed to inflate the value of assets and redirect tax revenue that could flow to governments into the pockets of <span class="caps">U.S.</span> shareholders instead.</p>
<p>And given the history I've outlined here, it is also fair to say that sophisticated use of corporate structures to minimize tax, maximize distributable cash flow and minimize disclosure and transparency, is key to Kinder Morgan's corporate culture.</p>
<h3>
<strong>Canada is Harder on Tax Avoidance</strong> — But Kinder Morgan Found a Way Around That</h3>
<p><span class="caps">MLP</span>s do not exist in Canada. Their close cousins — Canadian Income Trusts — lost their special corporate tax privileges with legislative changes brought in by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty in 2006. The changes ensured that all special tax benefits of publicly traded non-real estate related trusts would be removed. Flaherty was concerned about significant tax revenue lost as established businesses in Canada rapidly converted from corporate to trust structures. He <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/flaherty-imposes-new-tax-on-income-trusts-1.573751">called</a> the behaviour a “growing trend to corporate tax avoidance.” He said “it's not right and it's not fair.”</p>
<p>But Kinder Morgan has shown it knows how to acquire a Canadian firm and absorb it into its <span class="caps">U.S.</span> operations, converting it, effectively, into a <span class="caps">U.S. MLP.</span></p>
<p>Remember a company called Terasen? In late 2005, Investment Canada approved the purchase by Kinder Morgan Inc. of the shares of Terasen Inc. — a publicly traded Canadian corporation with its head office in Vancouver — at a steep premium. Terasen held natural gas and oil pipeline assets, including the Trans Mountain Pipeline System.</p>
<p>Kinder Morgan delisted Terasen from the Toronto Stock Exchange. Despite what the company says in its <a href="http://www.transmountain.com/benefits">promotional literature</a> that Trans Mountain's expansion means “as Canadians we will have an asset that unlocks access to world markets and continues to support our economy,” Trans Mountain is not a Canadian asset benefitting Canadians. Canadians own less than two per cent of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners.</p>
<p>After the purchase of Terasen, Kinder Morgan <span class="caps">IN</span>c. engaged in a number of inter-company transfers involving many sophisticated entities including an Unlimited Liability Corporation (<span class="caps">ULC</span>) registered in Nova Scotia. The Trans Mountain Pipeline assets were eventually sold to Kinder Morgan Energy Partners. In Kinder Morgan's words, they were “dropped down” to the <span class="caps">MLP</span>. This is how Trans Mountain came to be under Kinder Morgan Energy Partner's indirect full ownership control by 2007. The Terasen share purchase and related inter-company paperwork effectively turned Trans Mountain into a U.S.-based <span class="caps">MLP</span>.</p>
<p>This is but one example of how Kinder Morgan has made an art form out of minimizing taxes in Canada and the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> The company has, in Kinder's own words, a “convoluted complicated structure” with more than 250 separate corporate entities. Upwards of 20 are registered in Canada with at least six of them <a href="http://www.kindermorgan.com/investor/KMP_2013_annual_report_financials.pdf">registered as <span class="caps">ULC</span>s</a> (page 186).</p>
<p>The <span class="caps">ULC</span> is not a very familiar form of incorporation. Only Nova Scotia, Alberta and <span class="caps">B.C.</span> allow them. U.S.-based energy sector investors who are expanding into Canada increasingly rely on <span class="caps">ULC</span>s. Their unique features enable them to elude a 25 per cent withholding tax rate that would otherwise be applicable under the Canada-<span class="caps">U.S.</span> Tax Treaty. In 2009, the Treaty introduced anti-hybrid rules in Art. 4, Sec. 7, which were intended to deny the special treatment, but some companies have developed sophisticated repatriation strategies, so are able to work around the rules.</p>
<h3>
What Does Kinder Morgan Really Pay in Canadian Taxes? Not Much</h3>
<p>I have gone into such detail here to show that fully understanding from a Canadian perspective Kinder Morgan's structure, and tax implications, would demand an expert analyst with all the facts.</p>
<p>However, there is a paucity of publicly available financial information related to Trans Mountain because Kinder Morgan reports on its Canadian operations to the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> <span class="caps">SEC</span> on a consolidated basis as part of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners. This means there are no separate financial statements filed related to its Canadian activities. This makes evaluation of the company's Canadian operations difficult.</p>
<p>This we do know: Kinder Morgan Canada president Ian Anderson informed analysts in Houston, Texas, last January that the Trans Mountain system received a cash tax refund of $4.2 million in 2013. This even though Trans Mountain generated $167 million in distributable cash flow — net earnings plus non-cash items such as depreciation — available to its <span class="caps">U.S.</span> parent.</p>
<p>Anderson's figures also tell us Trans Mountain has contributed combined federal and provincial corporate taxes that averaged a meager $1.5 million over the past five years. Trans Mountain received a tax refund in two of them.</p>
<p id="4044333"><img alt="Cash flow" src="http://thetyee.cachefly.net/Opinion/2014/11/17/cashflow600px.jpg" width="600" /></p>
<div>
<p><span style="font-size:11px;"><em>Source: Kinder Morgan Analysts Conference <a href="http://www.kindermorgan.com/investor/presentations/013013_KMCanada.pdf">2013 </a> (page 4) and <a href="http://www.kindermorgan.com/investor/presentations/2014_Analysts_Conf_05_KMCanada.pdf">2014</a> (page 3). <span class="caps">U.S.</span> dollar figures translated to Canadian using Bank of Canada annual exchange rate.</em></span></p>
</div>
<p>Trans Mountain files accounting information with the National Energy Board on its regulated assets, which are a subset of its overall activity in Canada. These files reveal that although Trans Mountain earlier told the regulator it would pay $7 million in taxes in 2013, instead its regulated pipeline assets realized a <a href="https://docs.neb-one.gc.ca/ll-eng/llisapi.dll/fetch/2000/90465/92835/552980/2450156/2450554/2450363/Att_1_2014_ITS_Toll_Schedules_Filed_-_A3V8F2.pdf?nodeid=2450862&amp;vernum=-2%20ITS-21">tax refund of more than half a million dollars</a>.</p>
<p>I asked Kinder Morgan to explain the discrepancy between its filing with the <span class="caps">NEB</span>, what it tells the Canadian public about its contribution to fiscal revenues and what it tells <span class="caps">U.S.</span> investors and analysts. These questions were <a href="https://docs.neb-one.gc.ca/ll-eng/llisapi.dll/fetch/2000/90464/90552/548311/956726/2392873/2451003/2478117/B40-1_-_Trans_Mountain_Response_to_Allan_R_IR_No._1_-_A3X5V9.pdf?nodeid=2480550&amp;vernum=-2">filed</a> (see pages 30-44) in an information request as part of my right as a qualified intervener in the current hearing. <a href="http://desmog.ca/2014/11/03/energy-executive-quits-trans-mountain-pipeline-review-calls-NEB-process-public-deception">Kinder Morgan refused to answer</a>.</p>
<p>I then <a href="https://docs.neb-one.gc.ca/ll-eng/llisapi.dll/fetch/2000/90464/90552/548311/956726/2392873/2449925/2451015/2484177/c9-9-1_-_r_allan_notice_of_motion_3_irs_-_a3y7e3.pdf?nodeid=2483379&amp;vernum=-2">asked</a> the <span class="caps">NEB</span> to compel answers. Siding with Kinder Morgan, the board <a href="https://docs.neb-one.gc.ca/ll-eng/llisapi.dll/fetch/2000/90464/90552/548311/956726/2392873/2449981/2524448/A81-3_-_Appendix_1_-_A4C4H7.pdf?nodeid=2523872&amp;vernum=-2">denied my request</a> (beginning on page 105).</p>
<p>I believe Canadians are owed an explanation why this <span class="caps">U.S.</span> multinational pays so little in Canadian corporate income taxes related to Trans Mountain. The <span class="caps">NEB</span> seems content to buy Kinder Morgan's story that it will pay a tax rate of 25 per cent on its net income and that its expanded operation will lead to about $100 million a year in federal and provincial corporate income tax revenue.</p>
<p>Indeed, in arguing for the Trans Mountain expansion Kinder Morgan presents itself to Canadians as a significant tax contributor. Yet Kinder Morgan now repatriates an average of $172 million per year from the Trans Mountain system for distribution to its <span class="caps">U.S.</span> based owners, but faces an average cash tax obligation of only $1.5 million in Canada.</p>
<h3>
Tripling the Financial Drain on Canada's Economy</h3>
<p>Bear in mind, too, that Kinder Morgan is Trans Mountain's sole source banker. Without taking you through more arcane financial details, this means the U.S.-based parent company receives high returns on investment locked into toll rates that are <a href="https://docs.neb-one.gc.ca/ll-eng/llisapi.dll/fetch/2000/90465/92835/552980/954476/935059/934480/A3G0H6_-_01-Cover_Letter_and_Application_for_2013-2015_ITS.pdf?nodeid=934481&amp;vernum=-2">approved by the <span class="caps">NEB</span></a> (paragraph 4, page 2).</p>
<p>Kinder Morgan's restructuring will, as a result, mean huge windfall gain for the <span class="caps">U.S.</span> multinational on its regulated Canadian pipeline operations, <a>guaranteed by the <span class="caps">NEB</span></a> (paragraph 890-1408).</p>
<p>But that's just for the existing pipeline. Trans Mountain wants to triple its pipeline capacity, and because of economies of scale, will more than triple its financial drain from the Canadian economy. The <span class="caps">NEB</span> recently approved much higher tolls charged to Canadian shippers on both the existing pipeline and the proposed twin if the expansion goes through. These tolls reflect a cost of capital well above 12 per cent on $5.4 billion.</p>
<p>Today it costs about $2.75 to ship a barrel of oil to Chevron's Burnaby refinery on the existing Trans Mountain Pipeline. If the expansion goes through, the price to ship that same barrel to Burnaby will be <a href="https://docs.neb-one.gc.ca/ll-eng/llisapi.dll/fetch/2000/90465/92835/552980/954476/935059/934480/A3G0H6_-_01-Cover_Letter_and_Application_for_2013-2015_ITS.pdf?nodeid=934481&amp;vernum=-2">more than $5</a>. Pretty much the same transportation price lift exists for imported refined petroleum products.</p>
<p>Since 90 per cent of the gasoline supplied to the interior and south coast of <span class="caps">B.C.</span> comes via Trans Mountain as either crude or refined products, those higher transportation costs are passed onto us. Every time a <span class="caps">B.C.</span> resident fills up, it lines Rich Kinder's pockets. If Trans Mountain's expansion is approved, that amount increases substantially.</p>
<p>Kinder Morgan told the <span class="caps">NEB</span> during the toll hearings it wouldn't bring the Trans Mountain expansion project forward if it didn't exceed a 12 to 15 per cent rate of return. Meanwhile as Trans Mountain's sole-source banker, it's going to cost Kinder Morgan less than 4.5 per cent to deliver project financing.</p>
<p>If Kinder Morgan's high return on equity in relation to its almost non-existent Canadian tax obligation does not concern the <span class="caps">NEB</span>, what remains, I would suggest, is for the federal government to step in and undertake a Canada Revenue Agency audit of all Kinder Morgan activities in Canada, particularly the transactions related to the purchase of Trans Mountain and the complex inter-company transactions that followed.</p>
<p>The <span class="caps">CRA</span> would be well advised to include a full examination of the company's complex corporate structure, including its reliance on <span class="caps">ULC</span>s. It should include an examination of transfer pricing, particularly of debt and equity sourced by Kinder Morgan's Canadian subsidiaries through their <span class="caps">U.S.</span> parent. Canadians deserve the bottom line facts about what benefits flow here, rather than south of the border, as Kinder Morgan proposes expanding its pipeline operations on our soil.</p>
<div class="article-footer">
<p><em>Robyn Allan is an economist and former <span class="caps">CEO</span> of <span class="caps">ICBC</span>. She is a qualified expert intervener in finance, economics, insurance and public policy at the Trans Mountain Expansion project public hearings. Read more at <a href="http://robynallan.com/">RobynAllan.com</a></em></p>
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<p><span style="font-size:11px;"><em>Photo: Mark Klotz via <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/markklotz/15816148911/in/photolist-q6BU3B-q4G9DQ-pa4rte-q4GUkh-pPnDG4-pa3M3X-pPpkwG-q6Mw52-9dmXAJ-hKCNw4-5HSgPN-o9YJTB-orsk4i-o9XJ17-o9XJUT-o9XJFg-orqPph-otd9Li-bAzmWZ-55D5Uy-oVuAwq-pcXvxu-pkf1tR-p3ZWAc-pPsD4G-pPnBFR-pPpR8f-pPpBeU-pPsgju-pa3XyX-pPqiLe-pa1oVL-pPn4EX-pPnfyR-pPniJD-pPp83d-pPpz2s-q6C8bk-pa3K7c-q4GT1o-pPpSPG-pPpEkd-q4Ghgy-q6VEdY-pPnm2p-pPqpZM-pPssAh-pPpGgs-pPsirW-pPqJ7P">Flickr</a></em></span></p>
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<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/12364">robyn allan</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/11382">NEB</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6061">national energy board</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6586">Kinder Morgan</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6585">Trans Mountain Pipeline</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/4318">CRA</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/4908">Enron</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/18980">Enron Liquids Pipeline</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/18981">MLPs</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/9293">Richard Kinder</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/18982">Project Tanya</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/18983">Michael Morgan</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/18984">William Morgan</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/18985">Kinder Morgan Energy Partners L.P.</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/14627">U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/14510">Kinder Morgan Energy Partners</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/18986">Canadian Income Trusts</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/18987">ULCs</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/18594">Ian Anderson</a></div></div></div>Tue, 18 Nov 2014 19:33:59 +0000Robyn Allan8794 at http://www.desmogblog.comEnergy Executive Quits Trans Mountain Pipeline Review, Calls NEB Process A ‘Public Deception'http://desmog.ca/2014/11/03/energy-executive-quits-trans-mountain-pipeline-review-calls-NEB-process-public-deception
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/Screen%20Shot%202014-11-03%20at%2012.46.12%20PM.png?itok=XYMGKjZY" width="200" height="167" alt="Marc Eliesen" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>An energy executive is weighing in on the federal review of <a href="http://www.desmog.ca/2014/11/03/energy-executive-quits-trans-mountain-pipeline-review-calls-NEB-process-public-deception">Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion</a> with a scathing letter that calls the National Energy Board’s review process “fraudulent” and a “public deception” — and calls for the province of British Columbia to undertake its own environmental assessment.</p>
<p>Marc Eliesen — who has 40 years of executive experience in the energy sector, including as a board member at Suncor — writes in his <a href="https://docs.neb-one.gc.ca/ll-eng/llisapi.dll/fetch/2000/130635/2543157/C118-6-1_-_Marc_Eliesen_Letter_of_Withdrawal_-_A4E1Q6.pdf?nodeid=2543843&amp;vernum=-2">letter to the National Energy Board</a> that the process is jury-rigged with a “pre-determined outcome.”</p>
<p>Eliesen is the former <span class="caps">CEO</span> of <span class="caps">BC</span> Hydro, former chair of Manitoba Hydro and has served as a deputy minister in seven different federal and provincial governments.</p>
<p>In his letter, Eliesen tells the <a href="https://www.neb-one.gc.ca/index-eng.html">National Energy Board (<span class="caps">NEB</span>)</a> that he offered his expertise as an intervenor in good faith that his time would be well spent in evaluation Trans Mountain’s proposal.</p>
<p><span class="dquo">“</span>Unfortunately, I have come to the conclusion that the board, through its decisions, is engaged in a public deception,” Eliesen writes. “Continued involvement with this process is a waste of time and effort, and represents a disservice to the public interest because it endorses a fraudulent process.”</p>
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<p>Eliesen writes that he was dismayed when the <a href="http://www.desmog.ca/2014/04/14/oral-hearings-quietly-vanish-kinder-morgan-trans-mountain-pipeline-review">oral cross-examination phase was removed from the Trans Mountain hearings</a>. He notes that oral cross-examination has served as a critical part of all previous Section 52 oil pipeline hearings.</p>
<p><span class="dquo">“</span>It is my experience that when a proponent does not face the spectre of oral cross-examination, their written responses to interrogatories suffer from a lack of detail and accountability,” Eliesen writes. “Still, I was willing to see the results of the Information Request process the board promised would be sufficient.”</p>
<p>When those information requests came back, however, Eliesen lost all hope in the process.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The unwillingness of Trans Mountain to address most of my questions and the board’s almost complete endorsement of Trans Mountain’s decision has exposed this process as deceptive and misleading. Proper and professional public interest due diligence has been frustrated, leading me to the conclusion that this board has a predetermined course of action to recommend approval of the project and a strong bias in favour of the proponent.</p>
<p>In effect, this so-called public hearing process has become a farce, and this board a truly industry captured regulator.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A <a href="http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2011/06/17/NEB/">regulator is considered ‘captured’</a> when it turns into more of a industry facilitator, rather than a regulatory watchdog.</p>
<p>Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain expansion proposal would triple the amount of oil the company ships to Burnaby and increase the number of oil tankers travelling through Vancouver Harbour and the Gulf Islands seven-fold.</p>
<h3>
National Energy Board Has 'Pre-Determined Course of Action' to Approve Trans Mountain: Eliesen</h3>
<p>Eliesen argues that a series of National Energy Board decisions reflect a pre-determined outcome.</p>
<p><span class="dquo">“</span>They reflect a lack of respect for hearing participants, a deep erosion of the standards and practices of natural justice that previous boards have respected, and an undemocratic restriction of participation by citizens, communities, professionals and First Nations either by rejecting them outright or failing to provide adequate funding to facilitate meaningful participation,” Eliesen writes.</p>
<p>To illustrate this behaviour, Eliesen outlines six examples:</p>
<p><strong>1) Intervenors being excluded from the formulation of the list of issues</strong> to be taken under consideration during the review. Kinder Morgan’s opinion, on the other hand, was taken into account when formulating the list.</p>
<p><strong>2) The board refusing requests from intervenors</strong> — including municipal governments and First Nations — for more time to prepare information requests (due to the highly technical, voluminous nature of Trans Mountain’s application).</p>
<p><strong>3) The lack of basic professional standards of disclosure</strong>, source verification, references and methodology in Trans Mountain’s studies.</p>
<p><span class="dquo">“</span>It is shocking that in a process such as this where due diligence is required on a major capital project that the board has not held Trans Mountain to a minimum professional standard of accountability and transparency,” Eliesen writes. “The Board’s veneer examination of the proponent’s case is reflective of a decision not to dig too deeply for fear the economic case may crumble, or a lack of economic, financial and business acumen on behalf of the Board to know where and how to dig.”</p>
<p>When basic business questions are asked by intervenors, Trans Mountain refuses to answer them, Eliesen adds.</p>
<p><strong>4) The board’s axing of oral cross-examination.</strong> The Government of Canada’s Department of Justice has informed the board that evidence given without cross-examination should be rejected. The Department of Justice stated “Canada’s position is that cross-examination is necessary to ensure a proper evidentiary record …” Furthermore, “cross-examination serves a vital role in testing the value of testimonial evidence. It assists in the determination of credibility, assigning weight and overall assessment of the evidentiary record. It has been termed ‘the greatest legal invention ever invented for the discovery of truth’ … without cross-examination the board will be reviewing only untested evidence.”</p>
<p><strong>5) The board's failure to compel Kinder Morgan to answer questions adequately. </strong>In the absence of oral cross-examination, the board is relying on written information requests between intervenors and the proponent. However, Trans Mountain has failed to respond in a way that addresses the core elements of most questions — and the board has failed to compel them to answer.</p>
<p><span class="dquo">“</span>They have either provided non-responses, general statements, or referred back to the inadequate information in the original application that gave rise to the question in the first place. In many instances Trans Mountain has assumed the regulator’s role declaring that the question asked is outside the List of Issues established by the <span class="caps">NEB</span>,” Eliesen writes.<br /><br />
Out of the approximately 2,000 questions not answered by Trans Mountain that intervenors called on the board to compel answers to, only five per cent were allowed by the board and 95 per cent were rejected.</p>
<p><strong>6) Trans Mountain has failed to answer even the Province of British Columbia’s questions</strong>, so the <a href="http://www.desmog.ca/2014/07/04/bc-government-calls-neb-compel-kinder-morgan-answer-oil-spill-questions">province asked the <span class="caps">NEB</span> to compel Trans Mountain to answer</a>. But guess what? That request was also denied by the board.<br /><br />
“The board has sided with Trans Mountain dismissing the Province of B.C.’s need for answers in pursuit of its duty to British Columbians,” Eliesen writes in his letter. “The <span class="caps">NEB</span>’s bias in support of the proponent is reflecting poorly on the Province of <span class="caps">B.C.</span> in that it is unable to obtain necessary answers to conduct its due diligence.”</p>
<h3>
Province of <span class="caps">B.C.</span> Should Cancel Equivalency Agreement, Launch Own Review of Trans Mountain</h3>
<p>Eliesen finishes his letter by calling on the Province of <span class="caps">B.C.</span> to cancel the equivalency agreement with the federal government to undertake its own environmental assessment as the only meaningful way to get answers to its questions. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;ved=0CB8QFjAA&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.andrewweavermla.ca%2F&amp;ei=0-pXVO-OKqiBiwKgiYCYDw&amp;usg=AFQjCNGxuv7lheoQiXxrFUvn6NYLwBZrfA&amp;bvm=bv.78677474,d.cGE">Andrew Weaver</a>, Green <span class="caps">MLA</span> for Oak Bay-Gordon Head, joined the call for the <span class="caps">B.C.</span> government to issue the 30-day notice required to cancel the equivalency agreement with the feds and launch its own, separate environmental assessment process.</p>
<p><span class="dquo">“</span>In the past week alone we have seen Kinder Morgan sue Burnaby residents for trespassing on parkland and one of the most credible intervenors, Marc Eliesen, fully withdraw from the hearing process,” Weaver says. </p>
<p>The June 2010 equivalency agreement signed between the federal government and province set the review process for major pipeline and energy projects under the National Energy Board, with final approval to be determined by the federal cabinet. The equivalency agreement for the Trans Mountain project can be cancelled with 30 days notice.</p>
<p><span class="dquo">“</span>The <span class="caps">B.C.</span> government needs to stand up for British Columbians,” Weaver says. “What we need is a made-in-<span class="caps">B.C.</span> environmental assessment that is controlled by British Columbians to ensure our concerns get respected and that our questions get answered.”</p>
<p style=" margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block;"><a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/245329050" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Marc Eliesen Letter of Withdrawal from Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain expansion NEB process on Scribd">Marc Eliesen Letter of Withdrawal from Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain expansion <span class="caps">NEB</span> process</a></p>
<p><iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="undefined" data-auto-height="false" frameborder="0" height="600" id="doc_62397" scrolling="no" src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/245329050/content?start_page=1&amp;view_mode=scroll&amp;show_recommendations=true" width="100%"></iframe></p>
<p><span style="font-size:11px;"><em>Photo credit: Jenny Uechi, <a href="http://www.vancouverobserver.com/">Vancouver Observer</a></em></span></p>
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<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6586">Kinder Morgan</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/14737">Trans Mountain</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6585">Trans Mountain Pipeline</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6061">national energy board</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/11382">NEB</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/18748">Marc Eliesen</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/3220">BC Hydro</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/suncor">suncor</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/18749">Manitoba Hydro</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/18750">equivalency agreement</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/16046">Burnaby</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/890">B.C.</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/18751">oil pipelines</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5562">oil tankers</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/andrew-weaver">andrew weaver</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/18430">Oak Bay-Gordon Head</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/18752">Section 52</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/18753">captured regulator</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/18754">Vancouver Harbour</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/18755">Gulf Islands</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5252">Department of Justice</a></div></div></div>Mon, 03 Nov 2014 21:14:11 +0000Emma Gilchrist8731 at http://www.desmogblog.comSalish Sea Orca Whales Not Mating, Socializing in Polluted Soundscapehttp://desmog.ca/2014/05/03/salish-sea-orca-whales-not-mating-socializing-polluted-soundscape
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/6126239594_e648a3c7d3_b.jpg?itok=DoBqzSh8" width="200" height="133" alt="orca whales, salish sea, kinder morgan, coal export terminals" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Vessel noise is already hindering endangered southern resident killer whales from communicating and finding fish and the noise bombardment will get worse if proposals for coal terminals and pipelines in B.C and Washington State are approved, said scientists and environmentalists at a <a href="http://www.wwu.edu/salishseaconference/">conference</a> looking at the health of the Salish Sea.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">“Ships dominate the soundscape of Puget Sound,” said Scott Veirs, <a href="http://www.beamreach.org/">Beam Reach Marine Sciences and Sustainability School </a>program coordinator and professor, speaking at the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Veirs and his students take underwater sound recordings off Lime Kiln Park on San Juan Island, an area where the killer whales are known to spend time, and then model the echo-location and communication consequences for the resident killer whales. The resident killer whale population has dropped this year to 80 animals in three pods, the lowest number in more than a decade.</span></p>
<!--break-->
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Sounds of swooshes, rattles and bangs echoed through the room as Veirs demonstrated noises surrounding the whales every day and audience members covered their ears as he played the screeching and metallic grindings made by a ship with a damaged propeller.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">“At least one ship is present about 40 per cent of the time and when that ship is going through it reduces the range that whales can communicate by 68 per cent,” Veirs said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">That means the whales miss about 37 per cent of calls and, if traffic doubles – as it could with increases in oil tankers from twinning the Kinder Morgan pipeline from Alberta to Burnaby and with 21 per cent more carriers and barges from proposed coal terminal expansions in <span class="caps">B.C.</span> and Washington – it is estimated the whales will miss 44 per cent of the calls, he said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Current noise levels mean whales are already finding almost 50 per cent less fish than they would otherwise and a doubling of traffic would increase that to 58 per cent, Veirs said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The noise is having a significant impact as chinook salmon is already scarce, Veirs said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Canadian and <span class="caps">U.S.</span> government studies have pinpointed lack of salmon – and particularly the whales' preferred diet of chinook – noise and pollution as the major threats faced by the resident killer whales.</span></p>
<p class="rtecenter"><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><img alt="" src="/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/6093338474_fcec35bbe2_b.jpg" style="width: 630px; height: 404px;" /></span></p>
<p class="rtecenter"><span style="font-size:9px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Juvenile chinook salmon. Photo by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwspacific/6093338474/in/photolist-ahrXeU-gEF6ZU-aSx8oz-gEFD5v-gEFAp1-4TiAzK-4TiAaK-nhv8Rw-gEFPGb-nhvaF3-9bR5zq-9jdtxo-8V4mzV-nhveLg-e6evKt-e6k9QN-8tQK9x-8tTLZA-dZjdCs-KWL2X-cuDSoy-7aw9MT-32NQ9D-9jdtky-cuDRh3-75G4k7-75Cbex-75Cd5R-75Ccn2-75G4Zm-75G6ff-75G3sL-63e1SZ-h89qLb-kqL26C-6x3U8B-7B26Vt-ej5uXA-31msjk-ar4qnV-byguxh-8KZrPr-6x85au-75G5gY-75G5wQ-75CdK8-75G6C7-75CbXg-75G6nY-75CaPF">Roger Tabor, <span class="caps">USFWS</span></a>.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Ship owners should be offered incentives to properly maintain their vessels and the noise could be mitigated by ships slowing down or rerouting through Rosario instead of Haro Strait, Veirs suggested.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">“Every knot you slow down, you come down about one noise level,” he said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">However, that would mean more time in the vicinity of the whales, which would increase the possibility of oil spills, he said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Concerns about shipping noise changing the whales' behaviour was echoed by <a href="http://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/contact/display_staffprofile.cfm?staffid=2029">Marla Holt</a>, research wildlife biologist with the U.S National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (<span class="caps">NOAA</span>).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Vessel noise affects acoustic signals that are important for foraging, Holt said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">“The behavioural changes in response to vessels is quite concerning as one of them is decreased foraging,” she said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><span class="caps">NOAA</span> used digital acoustic recording tags, temporarily attached to whales with suction cups, to estimate noise levels.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The minimum noise level recorded, with two stationary and one slow boat in the vicinity, was 88 decibels and the maximum, with a large ferry less than 300 metres away, was 141 decibels, Holt said. <a href="http://www.hearnet.com/at_risk/risk_trivia.shtml">Sound charts</a> equate 140 decibels with the sounds of a jet engine at 100 feet.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Last year, the behaviour of the whales was different than in previous years, said Jenny Atkinson, executive director of <a href="http://whalemuseum.org/">The Whale Museum in Friday Harbour</a>, Washington.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The Whale Museum documented sightings in the Salish Sea and found that, especially during the summer, when the whales typically spend their time around Juan de Fuca Strait, Haro Strait and the Strait of Georgia, the animals spent more time off the west coast of Vancouver Island and did not get together to socialize in their traditional areas.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">It is not known whether the behaviour changes are connected to salmon runs or noise, but the result is that no one is observing the greeting ceremonies or the three pods coming together in a superpod, Atkinson said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">“They're not spending too much time socializing and making babies,” she said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The <a href="http://www.adn.com/2013/09/07/3062263/dead-killer-whale-calf-is-getting.html">only calf born in 2013 washed up dead</a> and no births have yet been reported this year.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">An additional problem is that southern residents reproduce more slowly than northern residents, possibly because of lack of prey availability or contamination, said <a href="http://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/contact/display_staffprofile.cfm?staffid=1112">Dawn Noren</a> of <span class="caps">NOAA</span>.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">But other whale populations are doing well, with increases in the northern resident and transient killer whale populations and a resurgence of humpback populations, Atkinson said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">“So what is going on with the southern residents?” she asked.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Howard Garrett of Orca Network has watched the changing behaviour and believes prey availability is the most likely cause.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">“It may be that it's not just lack of food on the inside, but an abundance on the outside,” he said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">The whales appear to like the protection of inland waters as it allows them to congregate, but that will likely start happening again once they are well fed, Garrett said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">Superpods are important for mating as there are strict rules within the pods that do not permit mating with family members, Garrett said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;">“Maybe they're having superpods off the west coast, but the chance of that seems slighter because of the rougher water,” he said.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.03em; line-height: 1.5em;"><em>Image Credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/vijay_srv/6126239594/in/photolist-akiM8V-akmzAA-2aoFM-4D6fjK-akiMbP-215Q4Q-44aCsF-8cR5Kg-4Rxkv-is2YDb-bNMk4v-4S7gbU-4kzUVr-eAcFWh-4A5kzS-aqam5D-dMjK6f-4Gj5tx-qFVYa-6dV2wi-eHFRwA-bqRL4c-8xvpyn-fDZtab-9GVQzx-aqam5H-acvKM5-cFfPQE-5j5Mci-dMutPq-akmzCS-983Qox-is2EA8-oxwWX-akiMaF-6jsQrL-7b11xq-vGpH5-CqeXZ-5LSC9N-aAttK4-bAvgMQ-caPDQL-ajF5rw-HkK3z-9NcqCs-6snvLJ-cv9qb7-caPE1w-8cR3U2">vijay_SRV</a> via Flickr</em></span></span></p>
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<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/16246">orca whales</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/11565">killer whales</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/16247">pods</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/16248">decline</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/16059">endangered</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6832">Fish</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/16249">sound pollution</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/12603">tanker traffic</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6586">Kinder Morgan</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6585">Trans Mountain Pipeline</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6575">coal export terminal</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/16250">Salish Sea</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2958">bc</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/948">washington</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/16251">echo location</a></div></div></div>Sat, 03 May 2014 18:48:11 +0000Judith Lavoie8076 at http://www.desmogblog.comTar Sands Industry Has Its Eyes On Vancouver For Asian Export Terminalhttp://www.desmogblog.com/tar-sands-industry-has-its-eyes-vancouver-asian-export-terminal
<div class="field field-name-field-bimage field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img src="http://www.desmogblog.com/sites/beta.desmogblog.com/files/styles/blog_teaser/public/blogimages/saudi-oil-supertanker.jpeg?itok=CcmoVYJl" width="200" height="148" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>In recent months, opposition to <a href="http://thetyee.ca/News/2011/06/02/KinderMorganGrandPlan/">Enbrige’s Northern Gateway Pipeline</a> has mounted as citizens, environmental groups and First Nations groups have protested the $5.5 billion dollar pipeline that would bring as many as 220 supertankers per year to Kitimat, B.C., to ship dirty tar sands crude to hungry energy markets in Asia.</p>
<p>While <a href="http://www.desmogblog.com/legislation-introduced-ban-oil-tanker-traffic-bc%E2%80%99s-north-cast">opposition</a> to this project has grown, it’s curious that we haven’t heard anything about an alternate project to route tar sands crude through Vancouver. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.neb-one.gc.ca/ll-eng/livelink.exe/fetch/2000/90465/92835/552980/655087/678170/654331/A1W3Y0_-_NEB_Application_-_Trans_Mountain_Pipeline_ULC.pdf?nodeid=654426&amp;vernum=0&amp;redirect=3">recent</a><a href="https://www.neb-one.gc.ca/ll-eng/livelink.exe/fetch/2000/90465/92835/552980/655087/678170/654331/A1W3Y0_-_NEB_Application_-_Trans_Mountain_Pipeline_ULC.pdf?nodeid=654426&amp;vernum=0&amp;redirect=3"> application</a> to the National Energy Board (<span class="caps">NEB</span>) comes from Trans Mountain Pipeline, a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan that operates the 300,000 barrel per day (bpd) pipeline from Alberta to <span class="caps">B.C.</span> and Washington State. Their project would vastly expand oil tanker traffic through the waters of Vancouver’s Burrard Inlet, and make Vancouver the major conduit of tar sands crude and bitumen to China.<!--break--></p>
<p>According to <a href="http://thetyee.ca/News/2011/06/02/KinderMorganGrandPlan/">Mitch Anderson at the Tyee</a>, Kinder Morgan has requested permission to divert more Alberta crude and bitumen from existing land-based refineries in <span class="caps">B.C.</span> and Washington to the Westbridge tanker terminal in the Burrard Inlet. This would expand crude capacity through Vancouver from 52,000 bpd to 79,000 bpd.</p>
<p><span>Because of growing opposition, the </span>Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline is still years away. But Kinder Morgan may have found a way around this. Expanding the existing line to Vancouver will be $1.5 billion cheaper than the Enbridge pipeline, and avoids the growing opposition to constructing a new line to Kitimat. </p>
<p><span><span><span>Kinder Morgan Canada, in a power point</span></span></span><span> <a href="http://www.kindermorgan.com/investor/presentations/2011_Analysts_Conf_05_KM_Canada.pdf" target="_blank">presentation</a> for investors, stated their oily intentions for this project:</span></p>
<ul><li><span>They plan to dredge Second Narrows channel to allow larger Suezmax tankers that can carry 1 million barrels of crude – <a href="http://www.exxonmobil.com/Corporate/about_issues_valdez.aspx" target="_blank">four times</a> as much as spilled from the Exxon Valdez;</span></li>
<li><span><span>These larger vessels will save shippers $1.50 per barrel;</span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span>Tanker transits through Vancouver will increase to 216 per year in 2016, up from 71 in 2010 and 22 in 2005;</span></span></span></li>
<li><span><span><span><span>Port Metro Vancouver is apparently</span></span></span></span> “supportive of expansion.”</li>
</ul><p>With this project looming, I have many unanswered questions. Why has there been so little public awareness of this project? According to Anderson, of <a href="https://www.neb-one.gc.ca/ll-eng/livelink.exe?func=ll&amp;objId=678148&amp;objAction=browse&amp;sort=name&amp;redirect=3">18 legal interveners</a> in Kinder Morgan’s application, 17 are from oil companies, and not one is from an environmental or citizen’s group.</p>
<p>Here’s another question that needs to be answered: Why did the <span class="caps">B.C.</span> government specifically <a href="https://www.neb-one.gc.ca/ll-eng/livelink.exe/fetch/2000/90465/92835/552980/655087/678149/681484/A1Y6A3_-_Letter.pdf?nodeid=681485&amp;vernum=0&amp;redirect=3" target="_blank">decline</a> to be involved in the decision that would scale up tanker traffic through the province’s largest city?</p>
<div>For Vancouverites, this project could prove disastrous. <span><span><span>Its no mystery that tar sands crude contains more heavy metals, </span></span></span><span>and is more acidic and sulphuric than conventional crude oil. A tar sands spill off Vancouver’s coast would be devastating. </span>The shallowness and strong tidal currents, of the waters below Vancouver’s Second Narrows bridge are tricky to navigate, <a href="http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2010/06/17/VancouverOilPort/">according to safety experts</a>. I despair for the beautiful coast and beaches that I call my home, and worry for my community, my city, and its future. </div>
<p>Head over to <a href="http://thetyee.ca/News/2011/06/02/KinderMorganGrandPlan/">The Tyee</a> to read the full story, and stay tuned for updates on this growing story. </p></div></div></div><!-- iCopyright Horizontal Tag -->
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<div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-14 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/the-tyee">the tyee</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/603">british columbia</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/1001">Vancouver</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2064">mitchell anderson</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/2738">oilsands</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/4389">Enbridge</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5538">bitumen</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/5572">tarsands</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6430">Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6583">crude</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6584">pipeline</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6585">Trans Mountain Pipeline</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6586">Kinder Morgan</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/directory/vocabulary/6587">National Energy Board (NEB)</a></div></div></div>Thu, 02 Jun 2011 21:31:53 +0000Emma Pullman5404 at http://www.desmogblog.com